Aristotle argued that tragedy cleansed the heart through pity and terror, purging us of our petty concerns and worries by making us aware that there can be nobility in suffering. He called this experience ‘catharsis’.

Greek tragedy in British English (ɡriːk ˈtrædʒədɪ) (in ancient Greek theatre) a play in which the protagonist, usually a person of importance and outstanding personal qualities, falls to disaster through the combination of a personal failing and circumstances with which he or she cannot deal.

Unities, in drama, the three principles derived by French classicists from Aristotle’s Poetics; they require a play to have a single action represented as occurring in a single place and within the course of a day. These principles were called, respectively, unity of action, unity of place, and unity of time.

Terms in this set (5)

• tragic hero. at the center of a tragedy is its hero, the main character, or protagonist.
• tragic flaw. an error in judgement or a weakness in character such as pride or arrogance (helps bring about the hero’s downfall)
• Catastrophe.
• Chorus.
• Central Belief: fate.

Terms in this set (15)

• tragedy. a drama that gives the audience an experience of catharsis.
• the five elements of a typical tragedy. prologue, parados, episode, stasimon, and exodus.
• prologue.
• parados.
• episode.
• stasimon.
• exodus.
• strophe and antistrophe.

Masks served several important purposes in Ancient Greek theater: their exaggerated expressions helped define the characters the actors were playing; they allowed actors to play more than one role (or gender); they helped audience members in the distant seats see and, by projecting sound somewhat like a small megaphone …

Background. In Greek and Roman theatre, makeup was unnecessary. Actors wore various masks, allowing them to portray another gender, age, or entirely different likeness. Thespis, considered to be the first actor, used white lead and wine to paint his face.

There are no surviving masks that were actually worn from Ancient Greek Theater. This is due in part to the fact that they were made from perishable material such as “stiffened linen or wood” (MAE). We do have some remaining terracotta examples, which were not worn, but would have been dedicated to temples.

Explanation: The Greeks believed in gods and goddesses who, they thought, had control over every part of people’s lives. The Ancient Greeks believed that they had to pray to the gods for help and protection, because if the gods were unhappy with someone, then they would punish them.

Dionysus

Hestia

However, religious practices and dramatic presentation often share many common elements: costume, storytelling, a playing space, and an audience. Also many of the world’s dramatic forms are derived from religious rituals and are still, in some way, connected to religious celebration.

Non-religious people can be called atheists or agnostics, but to describe things, activities, or attitudes that have nothing to do with religion, you can use the word secular. If there’s no religion involved, then you’re in “the secular world” — as people sometimes call everything that exists outside of religion.

The Catholic Church decreed that all Acting performances would henceforth, banned. This was due to the extremity of the Roman Theatre, as the Romans decreed that their Comedies, Circuses, Horse Races, and of course, Gladitorial Combat that would take place in the Roman Ampitheatres.

Good theatre and rituals share these characteristics. The plot of a play simply put is beginning middle and end. Characters are the chief “presider” who drives the action. The visuals or spectacle is vital to both as a means to engage the audience and community.

Drama is usually written in the form of dialogue and can often employ more poetic structures. They both have a plot, a main theme, and often both major and minor characters. The main difference is that drama is meant to be performed.

To begin with, both tend to include a storyline. In the case of a theatrical performance, the plot is often told in its entirety on stage, while in a ritual performance the story is often part of a larger whole, but both performances create or feed into a narrative.

Unless otherwise specified, herein the term ritual refers to both secular and sacred rituals. Performance is an inclusive term meaning the activities of actors, dancers, musicians, and their spectators and audiences.

Ritual Performance. Ritual performance is one way that people connect with the sacred realm to bring overall wellness to their lives. Ceremonial dance, music, and theatrical performances may take place in various settings such as the temple, a village center, and personal homes. To some, ritual performance is prayer.

Cross-culturally, ritual typically includes elements commonly associated with performance events: music or rhythmic accompaniment; dance or other stylized bodily movements; and masking, costuming, and makeup.

The theatron (plural theatra) is the word referring to the seating area section of an ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine theater. In fact, some scholars argue it is the most significant part of Greek and Roman theatrical structures, the part that defines them.

Proskenion, Front wall of the stage; an acting area which projected in front of the skene (proskenion literally means “something set up before the skene”); in Classical Greek theatre, the ground-level portion immediately in front of the skene was used as an acting area; in Hellenistic period, the proskenion was a …

The theatron was the seating area, built into a hill to create a natural viewing space. The first seats in Greek theatres (other than just sitting on the ground) were wooden, but around 499 BC the practice of inlaying stone blocks into the side of the hill to create permanent, stable seating became more common.

seeing place

The term “drama” comes from a Greek word meaning “action” (Classical Greek: δρᾶμα, drama), which is derived from “I do” (Classical Greek: δράω, drao). The two masks associated with drama represent the traditional generic division between comedy and tragedy.

orkhestra

Word origin of “theater” Comes from the Greek word “theatron” meaning “seeing place” Dionysus.